Dalton McGuinty resigns as Ontario premier

TORONTO — Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty has resigned after nine years in office, telling an emergency caucus meeting at Queen’s Park on Monday evening that it is time for a new Liberal leader.

The revelation came moments after Mr. McGuinty said he had asked the Lieutenant-Governor to prorogue Parliament amid continuing fallout from a scandal over the politically motivated cancellation of two power plants and an ongoing battle with organized labour over plans to impose new collective agreements that contain wage freezes via legislation.

Mr McGuinty is a friend, a good man and a fine leader. He's been a great Premier and a man of enormous decency and integrity. I salute him

“It is time for the next Liberal Premier of Ontario,” Mr. McGuinty said, his voice breaking as he sat on the stage before his caucus. “It is time for renewal.”

Mr. McGuinty said he has asked the Liberal party president to organize a leadership convention as soon as possible, and he said he would remain as MPP of his Ottawa South riding until the next general election.

Liberal MPPs and staffers appeared shocked by the decision, with many of the latter standing outside the caucus meeting wearing grim expressions.

The Premier’s announcement came after he spent several minutes extolling the record of his government, which won strong majorities in his first two elections but was reduced to a minority in 2011.

He then said he sought prorogation because the government needs time to either work with public-sector unions in negotiating wage freezes, or to find a compromise with either the opposition PCs or NDP on a legislation solution.

“I’ve asked the Lieutenant Governor to prorogue the legislature to allow those discussions with our labour partners and the opposition to occur in an atmosphere that is free of the heightened rancour of politics in the legislature,” Mr. McGuinty said.

But that decision came mere hours after Mr. McGuinty’s Finance Minister, Dwight Duncan, delivered a fall economic update in which he was upbeat about the prospect of working something out with the Tories.

Four hours later, Parliament was prorogued and his leader had quit.

There has been speculation in Queen’s Park circles for more than a year that Mr. McGuinty was considering a move out of his office, but he has consistently rejected suggestions that he was working on an exit strategy.

The loss of a crucial by-election in Kitchener-Waterloo on Sept. 6 that would have given the Liberals an effective majority likely accelerated his departure plans, as did the problems related to the cancellation of the Oakville and Mississauga gas-fired power plants, decisions that came after local outcries in what were seen as vulnerable Liberal ridings and which will cost the government at least $230-million.

Thanks to Premier Dalton McGuinty for his many years of public service.

Opposition politicians have said the true cost could easily be three times that amount and they charge the Liberals with deliberately obfuscating attempts to discover the actual number. The proceedings have led to possible contempt charges against Energy Minister Chris Bentley, who disclosed 36,000 pages of documents in late September only after months of delay and under an order to do so by the Speaker — and then a subsequent 20,000 pages late on Friday, citing an inadvertent oversight by Energy Ministry bureaucrats.

I’ve asked the Lieutenant Governor to prorogue the legislature to allow those discussions with our labour partners and the opposition to occur in an atmosphere that is free of the heightened rancour of politics in the legislature

The contempt motion, which was due to be investigated by the Finance Committee, could have led to weeks of embarrassing headlines for the Liberals. Instead, the prorogation removes such a possibility. Opposition politicians in Ottawa, including Liberals, accused Prime Minister Stephen Harper of using prorogation to avoid political scrutiny when the federal House was prorogued prior to the 2011 federal election.

Mr. McGuinty said on Monday night that his government had made some mistakes in his nine years, but he insisted it has handled the major files well.

“Our government hasn’t been perfect,” he said. “But when it comes to the big things that families count on us to get right — schools, health care, the environment and the economy — we’ve gotten it right every time.”

Dalton McGuinty’s full statement:

“Sixteen years ago, when I was elected leader of our Party, the Ontario Liberals had won exactly one election in fifty years.

We couldn’t do anything to help families because we couldn’t win an election. That’s changed. We’ve won three elections in a row. But more important is what those election wins have allowed us to do.

In every area that matters most to families – their schools, their health care, their environment and their economy — we’ve made huge progress.

We’ve gone from struggling schools to the best schools in the English-speaking world… From Canada’s longest health-care wait times, to the shortest … From dirty air to clean air … And the toughest drinking water standards, anywhere.

When it comes to the economy:

We’ve made our workforce the strongest and our taxes very competitive. We’re renewing our infrastructure. We keep creating jobs. Ontario has recovered 13 per cent of our jobs lost in the recession. In the U.S., it’s 49 per cent.

We’ve positioned Ontario for decades of success.

Our government hasn’t been perfect. But when it comes to the big things that families count on us to get right –schools, health care, the environment and the economy — we’ve gotten it right every time.

Just this afternoon, we updated Ontarians on the state of our finances.

We’re once again ahead of schedule with our plan to balance the budget… We’ve beaten our budget forecasts in seven of the last nine years. I feel very good about where we are as a party and a province. But as Liberals, we’re always driving forward.

The opposition’s political games are holding Ontario back. They’ve told us they oppose our plan for a two-year pay freeze for government workers. That means we can’t make it law. So, we need to go back to the drawing board. We’re going to make a sincere and determined effort to negotiate a wage freeze agreement with our labour partners.

Like the agreements already reached with 80,000 public sector workers. We’re also going to consult with the opposition about what they would support to freeze wages.

To this end, I’ve asked the Lieutenant Governor to prorogue the legislature to allow those discussions with our labour partners and the opposition to occur in an atmosphere that is free of the heightened rancour of politics in the legislature.

And when the legislature returns, we will either have negotiated agreements in hand or a firm sense of what the opposition will support.

As the party and government of relentless progress, we’re always looking for new ideas and ways to renew ourselves. And I’ve concluded that this is the right time for Ontario’s next Liberal Premier and our next set of ideas to guide our province forward.

Earlier today, I asked Yasir Naqvi, our party president, to convene a leadership convention at the earliest possible time. I will remain as Premier until that leadership convention.

And it will be my honour to continue to serve as the MPP for Ottawa South until the next general election. I know I’ve asked some hard things of you.

But I’ve always been inspired by the ideal that the older generations work hard to build a bright future for the younger ones. And they do this, always, with love and an unwavering commitment. I saw that in my own mother and father. It’s what Terri and I have tried to do for our children.

And I see it in the eyes and actions of Ontario families, every day. I thank you for the honour of serving as your Leader and your Premier… In Ontario, the greatest province in the best country in the world.”